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FREENOW

Intelligent Apps GmbH and its subsidiaries operate under the name FREENOW.

Lobbying Activity

Response to Clean corporate vehicles

8 Sept 2025

Please find attached Freenow's contribution to the call for evidence.
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Meeting with Kristian Schmidt (Director Mobility and Transport)

11 Jun 2025 · Exchange of views on the future of the ride-hailing sector in Europe

Meeting with Didier Reynders (Commissioner) and

6 Mar 2024 · GDPR, consumers

Meeting with Maria Walsh (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Dec 2022 · Platform Work

Meeting with Antonius Manders (Member of the European Parliament)

5 Dec 2022 · Platform Work

Meeting with Max Orville (Member of the European Parliament)

19 Oct 2022 · Travailleurs des plateformes

Meeting with Elisabetta Gualmini (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European Youth Forum and

12 Apr 2022 · 2nd roundtable on platform work directive

Meeting with Ana Carla Pereira (Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit), Fabien Dell (Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit) and

24 Sept 2021 · conditions of people working through platforms

Response to Legislative framework for the governance of common European data spaces

5 Feb 2021

FREE NOW comment on the Data Governance Act Founded in 2009 as one of the world's first taxi ride-hailing apps in Hamburg, FREE NOW (formerly mytaxi) has become one of the largest intermediaries for mobility services in Europe. In addition to our ride-hailing services we also provide e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds and car-sharing. Our vision is to offer our users the most diverse and suitable range of mobility options in cities. FREE NOW is part of the joint venture for new mobility services established by Daimler and BMW. At the heart of our approach is data. Data informs our decision making and we use it to help make decisions about how best to optimize our operations and allow passengers to make better and more efficient decisions about the journeys. Data Sharing opens up a huge potential for a competitive mobility landscape in Europe. While more and more cities and companies see the potential, more needs to be done to increase trust among the various players. Till now there is no institutional way to share data. Stakeholders must bilaterally negotiate each cooperation which costs high efforts given the large number of mobility providers. Contractual security ensures the necessary trust among different parties and a fair competition. The Data Governance Act defines the institutional infrastructure for data sharing for the very first time. We fully welcome the initiative of developing European Data Spaces. Single European rules are key for thriving the full potential of data-driven services instead of sole national initiatives. A common EU Mobility Data Space would serve as a pool of jointly agreed principles and standards, in which data-owners and potential buyers would freely negotiate terms and eventually conclude a contract. This mutual agreement ensures equal opportunities for all market participants taking into account the remuneration of data.
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Response to Legislative framework for the governance of common European data spaces

31 Jul 2020

FREE NOW’s vision is to make mobility available to everyone, independent of age, income and location. FREE NOW believes and supports the objectives set out in the inception impact assessment. We believe lower transaction costs to share data, lowering the cost data use through interoperability and supporting the use of data that individuals or companies voluntarily contribute to the wider public good is positive. Our attached document sets out our key points in some detail but we would make the following key points: Data sharing: As the assessment rightly notes, it is difficult to get consumers and organisations to voluntarily share their data. Some of this is due to concerns over privacy and use, some of this is simply that the processes to do so are time consuming and/or expensive. Lowering these costs, through upfront agreement (see section on fiduciary service below), encouraging business to incentivise consumers to share their data or by some other means can help achieve some of this. It can be unclear if regulators recognise the widespread and sweeping requirements placed on business by GDPR. We need to ensure that cities see this in the same manner. Data sharing costs: As the assessment rightly notes, “Voluntary data-sharing remains costly and complicated” there needs to be a sustained effort among governments, municipalities, businesses and consumers to actively share data. The starting point is building a better understanding among regulators and business about the need for data. Too often organisations resist sharing data due to misunderstandings of how it will be used, while often regulators fail to see the high cost of sharing data for business and consumers. One point in relation to mandatory sharing of data. The assessment says “Companies providing data sharing services may face additional administrative burden in terms of certification or labelling, but only if such certification or labelling would become compulsory. Such administrative burden would need to be balanced against the advantages such certification or labelling would provide to them in terms of increased business resulting from more market participants trusting them”. Mandatory data sharing creates significant issues in terms of balancing privacy and data management. Moreover, mandatory data sharing places significant burdens on small and innovative businesses. We don’t believe mandatory data sharing is required and instead focus should be on lower barriers for voluntary data sharing. Fiduciary service as governance model for data sharing We welcome the goal of developing European Data Spaces. A European solution is the only way to upscale new business models making them competitive with global players. A fiduciary service is the most appropriate governance model. It lays down by contract between the different parties what data can (or may) be shared by which mobility service provider with other partners, taking into account the remuneration. It is often neglected that data only gain on value when they are accordingly processed and analysed. Companies invest a lot which must be taken into account. An appropriate balance must therefore be found between the public sector and private companies.The fiduciary service requires a neutral institution that acts as a central interface to facilitate the sharing of data. It gives transparency to all participants by setting up standardized contracts between the parties. Data standards As noted by the EU Commission “Data producers and users have identified significant interoperability issues which impede the combination of data from different sources within sectors, and even more so between sectors” A common European standard on interfaces is essential for the success of businesses in Europe. Where standards are not available, existing best practices should form a basis from which standards must be developed during the process.
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Meeting with Jocelyn Fajardo (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc)

19 Mar 2019 · Meeting with with Mr Diepenhorst, CEO of MyTaxi

Meeting with Jocelyn Fajardo (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc)

16 Oct 2017 · Meeting with Ms Claudia Breure (Head of Public Affairs, Europe) MyTaxi